Not unlike other boys, Trevor Long liked to kick, punch and carry around a sword when he was younger. So for his sixth birthday, his parents signed him up for Taekwondo lessons. By the age of 9, Long was invited by his instructor and USA Taekwondo coach, Master Eui Lee, to join the Peak Performance National Team, a specialty program that trains students for Olympic competition. By age 12, he was fighting adults. “[Long] has a very bright future as long as he sets his goals and stays focused,” says Lee.
A freshman at Champlin Park High School, 15-year-old Long is the youngest member on the U.S. Junior National Taekwondo men’s team and has fought against competitors from around the globe in multiple international tournaments.
But as glamorous as the life of an international competitor may sound, it’s not easy. Long puts in a lot of hard work, training two to three hours a day six days a week at Lee’s Maple Grove studio. He has even pushed himself to compete on a broken foot. But the pain is worth it for Long, who says his Taekwondo team has become his family; a support network that taught him that confidence, dedication and sacrifice will allow him to reach his life goals.
This past November, Long put his Taekwondo skills to the test, traveling to Las Vegas for the Junior Pan Am National Championship, where he won second place. “I feel awesome,” says Long. “It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I will never forget it!”
Long’s main goal now is to make the World’s Taekwondo team. If he makes it, he will go to Egypt this April for a competition. If he doesn’t, Long says he will continue training and preparing for Nationals in July, adding that although he’s a year away from eligibility, he hopes to someday compete in the Taekwondo Olympics.
